Locations of room controls, such as electrical switches and climate-control thermostats, are generally chosen during the architectural design of a building, and the controls are then hard-wired in place within the walls during construction. If the resident subsequently wishes to add controls or move existing controls to another location, it will generally be necessary to break holes in the wall, run new wiring, and then repair and repaint.
Scanning projectors are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,437,063, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of scanning a light beam using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device to drive first and second mirrors to scan a light beam along first and second axes.
As another example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0106692, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes scanning projectors and image capture modules for 3D mapping. This publication describes apparatus for mapping that include an illumination module, which includes a radiation source, which is configured to emit a beam of radiation. A scanner receives and scans the beam over a selected angular range. Illumination optics project the scanned beam so as to create a pattern of spots extending over a region of interest. An imaging module captures an image of the pattern that is projected onto an object in the region of interest. A processor processes the image in order to construct a three-dimensional (3D) map of the object, also referred to as a depth map.
As yet another example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0106692, which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an improved content projection device, which is aware of objects in its field of view, recognizing such objects as suitable for projection of content thereon. The projection device may adapt to the geometry and character of the objects by controlling scale, distortion, focus of the projected content, and varying the projected content itself. Additionally or alternatively, the projection device may adapt the projected content according to the relationship of the viewer to the projected content, such as its gaze vector, distance from the surface onto which content is projected, and other similar parameters. The 2D/3D input device used to analyze the geometry for projection can also be used to interact with the projected content.
Another type of scanning depth engine is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0207970, which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. Mapping apparatus includes a transmitter, which emits a beam comprising pulses of light, and a scanner, which is configured to scan the beam, within a predefined scan range, over a scene. A receiver receives the light reflected from the scene and to generate an output indicative of a time of flight of the pulses to and from points in the scene. A processor is coupled to control the scanner so as to cause the beam to scan over a selected window within the scan range and to process the output of the receiver so as to generate a 3D map of a part of the scene that is within the selected window.
Depth sensing can be used to provide “virtual touchpad” functionality. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0283213, which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method in which a computer receives a two-dimensional image (2D) containing at least a physical surface and segments the physical surface into one or more physical regions. A functionality is assigned to each of the regions, each of the functionalities corresponding to a tactile input device. A sequence of three-dimensional (3D) maps is received, containing at least a hand of a user of the computer positioned on one of the physical regions. The 3D maps are analyzed to detect a gesture performed by the user, and based on the gesture, an input is simulated for the tactile input device corresponding to the one of the physical regions.
Depth maps can be analyzed to find the pose of hands and fingers appearing in such maps. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0236089, which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method in which descriptors are extracted from a depth map based on the depth values in a plurality of patches distributed in respective positions over the human hand. The extracted descriptors are matched to previously-stored descriptors in a database, and a pose of the human hand is estimated based on stored information associated with the matched descriptors.